1. An Information Theory Magazine
ITSoc BoG Meeting, June 2018
Ad-hoc Committee: Dan Costello, Christina Fragouli, Ubli Mitra, Wojtek Szpankowski

2. Outline Review of Last year Presentation (Update) Next Steps
Appendix (Finances of SP Magazine)

3. Rationale for Magazine
Everybody loves the IT Newsletter but:
Only ITSoc members read it
Not covered by the search engines
Articles are not cited
IT Magazine:
Provide tutorial style papers
Blend of traditional IT areas and new directions
Increase visibility of IT
Most good magazine papers are well-read and cited
Impact factor and clicks (more than 9 for magazines)
Increase value of society membership

4. Magazine Contents Technical articles Columns
For a wide audience: Tutorial/overview
“Hot” topics in core IT and new directions
Historical perspectives
Combination of invited/contributed
Carefully reviewed, high quality articles
Columns
From the newsletter: President, editor in chief, historian, student, puzzles, meeting reports etc
Education tips, book reviews, popular IT articles, industry perspective etc

5. Editorial Board EiC and Executive Editorial Board (2-3 members)
Appointed by the board
Team of Senior Editors
Appointed by the EiC in consultation with the Executive Editorial Board
Selects/invites focus topics/guest editors
Oversees guest editor review process
Coordinates review of other articles; initiates invitations
Column Editors

6. Process for Establishing Magazine
Letter of Intent (LOI) sent to IEEE TAB Periodicals Committee
Very simple, one page
Title, launch date, scope, sponsoring society(ies)
There may be a required (short) presentation to a TAB meeting after the LOI is submitted (DONE, 2018)
Phase I Proposal
About 15 pages, justifies need/demand, explores overlap with existing IEEE and non-IEEE periodicals
Clarifies electronic vs. print, estimated page count, page charges, other little details
Presented to TAB board, IEEE does a feasibility analysis, and other societies may try to get a “piece” of the journal
Phase II Proposal
Phase I + a bunch of Appendices with more detailed marketing & financial analysis, results of reader and EIC surveys, etc.
Final oral proposal and (presumably) approval

7. Outline Review of Last year Presentation (Update) Next Steps
Appendix (Finances of SP Magazine)

8. Next Steps Decide the name of the Magazine Financial Considerations
We propose to start a competition (with an award of $100-$200) among ITSoc members to find a good name for the Magazine with final results by the February BoG meeting.
Financial Considerations
Most magazines lose money each year (see Appendix)
Timing: When should we launched the Magazine?
We anticipate moving to Phase I by next spring.

9. Appendix: Budget of SP Magazine